1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to monoesters derived from ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acids and polyhydroxy alcohols and to polymers and copolymers prepared from such monoesters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Multifunctional polyol derivatives of acrylic or methacrylic acid esters of polyols in which at least two hydroxyl groups are esterified and synthetic resins prepared from such derivatives are known. U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,103 describes a polyfunctional reactive solvent which confers crosslink density to a radiation curable resin composition containing a low molecular weight vinyl acetate polymer and a monofunctional acrylate ester. The polyfunctional reactive solvent is polyacrylate ester having from 2 to 6 acrylyl groups such as pentaerythritol di-, tri-, or tetra-acrylate. The monofunctional ester is derived from acrylic or methacrylic acid and a monohydroxyl compound, e.g., methyl methacrylate, butyl acrylate, isobutyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate, dicyclopentenyl acrylate, (methylcarbamyl)ethyl acrylate, 2-phenoxyethyl acrylate, 2-methoxyethyl acrylate, 2-(N,N-diethylamino)-ethyl acrylate and oleic or ricinoleic acid acrylate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,319 describes a water-reducible alkyd resin derived in part from an ester of an alpha, beta-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid of a polyesterified polyol containing at least two hydroxy groups, e.g., an acrylic or methacrylic acid ester of pentaerythritol, dipentaerythritol or tripentaerythritol.
Since the acrylic and methacrylic acid esters of multifunctional polyols heretofore known are obtained from the direct esterification of the acid and polyol reactants, the resulting esters inevitably are mixtures of mono- and polyacrylic and methacrylic acid esters, up to the entire number of hydroxyl groups originally present in the starting polyol.